The sharp language came after President Donald Trump said that the "problem" of North Korea "will be taken care of", as speculation mounts that the reclusive state could be preparing another nuclear or missile test.

"Lately, tensions have risen with the US and the ROK on one side, and the DPRK on the other, and one has the feeling that a conflict could break out at any moment," Wang said, using abbreviations for South and North Korea.

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A White House foreign policy advisor today said that the US is assessing military options in response to North Korea's weapons programs, saying another provocative test was a question of "when" rather than "if."

There are reports of activity at a nuclear test site in North Korea ahead of Saturday's 105th anniversary of the birth of the country's founder Kim Il-Sung.

"Dialogue is the only possible solution," Wang said.

Meanwhile, North Korea's vice foreign minister said they are ready for war and has a "powerful nuclear deterrent ready" if US President Donald Trump shows any sign of "reckless aggression".

Vice Minister Han Song Ryol said Pyongyang Donald Trump's tweets are adding fuel to a "vicious cycle" of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea's vice foreign minister said.

Mr Han Song said Pyongyang has determined the Trump administration is "more vicious and more aggressive" than that of Barack Obama. He added that North Korea will keep building up its nuclear arsenal in "quality and quantity" and said Pyongyang is ready to go to war if that's what Trump wants.

The official added that if the US shows any sign of "reckless" military aggression, Pyongyang is ready to launch a pre-emptive strike of its own.

Tensions between Pyongyang and Washington go back to President Harry Truman and the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. But the heat has been rising rapidly since Trump took office in January.

"Trump is always making provocations with his aggressive words," Han said. "It's not the DPRK but the US and Trump that makes trouble."

He added: "We will go to war if they choose."

A US State Department official said yesterday the US was aligning "all elements of national power" to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile programs.

The official, who wasn't authorised to be quoted by name and demanded anonymity, lamented Pyongyang's "far too common and far too dangerous" provocations, and said Washington would work with international partners to cut the North's government off "from the rest of the world."

Mr Han Song dismissed the suggestion Trump made last year during his presidential campaign that he was willing to meet Kim Jong Un, possibly over hamburgers.

"I think that was nothing more than lip service during the campaign to make himself more popular," Mr Han Song said. "Now we are comparing Trump's policy toward the DPRK with the former administration's and we have concluded that it's becoming more vicious and more aggressive."

Mr Han Song said North Korea changed its military strategy two years ago, when the reports of "decapitation strike" training began to really get attention, to stress pre-emptive actions.

"We've got a powerful nuclear deterrent already in our hands, and we certainly will not keep our arms crossed in the face of a US pre-emptive strike," he said.

"Whatever comes from the US, we will cope with it. We are fully prepared to handle it."